THE SECOND round of the WNBL has come and gone, and the competition’s contenders and improvers continues to take shape as the fixture rolls on.

The Townsville Fire, Bendigo Spirit and Southside Flyers have all started the season unbeaten, emerging as title contenders in the early stages of the fixture. While there is a long way to go, it is not unlikely to see all three in the postseason in a few months’ time.

Helping boost these sides are strong individual performances in key statistical categories, with some big names stepping up to get their sides going for season 2022/23.

Points per game

Tiffany Mitchell (Melbourne Boomers) – 24.3
Tianna Hawkins (Townsville Fire) – 24
Lauren Nicholson (Townsville Fire) – 20.5
Shyla Heal (Sydney Uni Flames) – 20
Chloe Bibby (Perth Lynx) – 19.3

Mitchell has had an astounding start to the season, and without her, the Boomers would likely be worse off than their 2-1 record. Her opening performance in Round 1 was nothing short of match-winning, producing 32 points, and has been able to sustain a strong output over three matches. Scoring inside the arc is her bread and butter and she should continue to thrive as the number one option for Melbourne. As far as imports go, none have been more impressive than Hawkins, who is fresh off a whopping 33 points in Round 2, as she catches the eye with her brutality and strength inside, while teammate Nicholson has chimed in for some handy scores too. Heal continues to do the surname proud, and at just 21 years of age, should only get better with more experience. Rounding out the top five is Bibby, who is shooting 50 per cent from the floor and leading a Lynx offence that lost quite a bit of firepower over the offseason.

Rebounds per game

Anneli Maley (Bendigo Spirit) – 11.3
Tianna Hawkins (Townsville Fire) – 11
Dekeiya Cohen (UC Capitals) – 10.7
Cayla George (Melbourne Boomers) – 10.3
Mikaela Ruef (Townsville Fire) / Kayla Thornton (Southside Flyers) – 9.5

Maley has controlled the skies thus far, which is not an unexpected prospect given how dominant she was last season. She has started the fixture as a double-double machine, starting plenty of scoring chains for the Spirit with her smart positioning and long wingspan, and has lead the Spirit to an unbeaten record. Hawkins makes her second appearance atop the charts, echoing how dominant she has been in Townsville’s two wins this season. 14 rebounds last time out boosted her average, and she looks likely to continue such a hot streak on the boards. Cohen has been a shining light in a disappointing start to the season for the Capitals, fighting tooth and nail to secure possession for her side, but the chain falls apart further up the court more often than not. George has been a mainstay on the list for the past few years now, while Ruef and Thornton have been the pick of the bunch in terms of single-digit averages.

Assists per game

Stephanie Reid (Townsville Fire) – 9
Kelly Wilson (Bendigo Spirit) – 6.7
Maddison Rocci (Southside Flyers) – 6.5
Lauren Scherf (Perth Lynx) – 6.3
Tiffany Mitchell (Melbourne Boomers) – 6

As far as facilitating goes, Reid has been leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the competition, and it makes sense given two of her teammates rank in the top five for scoring. Her court vision is as good as anyone’s, spacing well and executing some of the toughest passes in the game, and her ability to create for others on the offensive end has seen Townsville become one of the most damaging scoring sides in the game. Wilson and Rocci have picked up where they left off last season, thriving as the primary ball handlers for their respective teams, while Scherf has seen her numbers boost after the departure of key imports has resulted in increased opportunities. Finally, Mitchell continues to put her name forward as an early-season MVP contender, not only scoring the ball at a high clip, but also find her teammates in scoring positions. She has shown the composure to make the right pass out of the double teams that come her way, and it has ensure that Melbourne’s offence rolls on when the defence tries to trap her, which has happened a lot to start the season.